Richard Beatch has worked extensively in the fields of search and taxonomy over the past several years after making the jump to technology from an academic career as professor of Ontology and Philosophy. Through his work he has developed hundreds of taxonomies as well as optimizing several search implementations using a range of technologies for a vast array of companies. His past work has involved companies including Apple Computer, McAfee, Microsoft and, more recently, Allstate Insurance and, now Dell Inc. At Dell, Richard works on the Global E-Commerce team as the lead architect for Search and Information Architecture.